Joe Ledger will NEVER catch a break. Not even when he is visiting the graves of his murdered family. This book picks up after the tragic events of Burn to Shine (RTI: Book 4). If you have been following along, you will recognize many of the characters in this latest installment, most notably Nicodemus. This one packs a LOT in—much of it are things Maberry's fans have been guessing at since, well, the beginning. And actually, this story goes back way beyond Joe's first encounter with Church, Bunny and Top. If you haven't been reading the Ledger books from the beginning, don't worry. Maberry is a master at weaving the old and the new, so the new readers won't feel lost, while long-time readers are still engaged.
Red Empire packs a lot between the covers. The Black Plague, the Crusades, Islam, and the Red Order. And in typical Maberry fashion, he weaves real history and current (and not-so-current) events into his tale. And if a modern-day, genetically engineered super-plague, long-time readers are finally going to get some answers to Church's mysterious past. Whew. Yes. It is a lot to take in, but it is a hefty read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
